Guardian Angel
by odairs-knot
Summary: Years after a failed attempt at a relationship, are Jean and his old kindle ready to try again? JeanxOC


She was sitting at her work table, building an arm for a friend. The only light in the room was that of her lamp which shined over her. Blueprints laid everywhere around the room but Chelsea was sure not to step on them. She was a well-known mechanic in Central and back home in Rush Valley. Her parents had thought her everything before she moved at the age of eighteen. With her own shop now at twenty-six, Chelsea was doing pretty well so far.

"How's the arm coming along?" a voice called out to her from upstairs. Chelsea jumped; letting go of everything she held in her hand. Footsteps and laughter neared the door behind her. She sighed, picking up the bolts and screwdrivers that fell to the ground. "Did I interrupt something?"

"You can be such a little prick sometimes," she said to her brother. Edmund would stop by the shop whenever he wasn't on military duty or just wanted to bug his sister. "Did you need something?" Chels asked, getting back to work on the almost completed arm.

"Not really, just wanted to see how you were doing. I've been too busy to stop by lately with all the military stuff," Edmund swayed his hand in the air. Pulling up a chair next to her, Edmund sat down and examined her work. He had always admired his sister for leading a different way from the girls back home. Most women were house wives, and then there were the few who reached for something more challenging. "Is that the arm for Stephen?" he asked, receiving a nod from her. He quietly watched as Chelsea screwed the last bolt and let out a heavy sigh.

"Wow, that only took about a week to make," Chelsea said sarcastically. Edmund reached for her carrier where she put all her creations for delivery; if it came to that. Sliding her jacket on, Chelsea took the carrier from him and headed upstairs. But was not prepared for the view she saw. "I see you brought the ashtray along," she laughed.

"It's nice to see you too, robot," Jean Havoc returned a laugh. Jean had known the siblings for a couple of years now. The first time he came to Central, Colonel Mustang told him to stay with Edmund while new barracks were being constructed. Chelsea would be over often whenever her brother's twins managed to break something quickly. She used her alchemy to fix it but would still charge him. "So where are we off to today?"

Chelsea rolled her eyes at him. Jean always tagged along when she made deliveries. Something about wanting to see Central more but both Edmund and Chelsea knew he didn't want to go back to work just yet. "Well, I have to deliver and set in some auto mail. Sure you want to tag along?"

Havoc nodded. "Beats going back to central command and doing the entire colonel's work," Edmund shrugged and walked out the shop with Jean.

"Watch the shop while I'm out, Marie. I should be back in a few hours," Chelsea said to her assistant. The small petite girl with the small gray eyes nodded.

"Oh, I just remembered, but the new clerk, Terry, is supposed to come by and get to know the shop," Marie spoke. Chelsea sighed heavily. She had forgotten she hired a new clerk last week. She was too focused on her auto mail to remember other things. That's what Marie was for.

"Show him the basics around here. If I'm back in time, I'll show him the rest," she said, holstering up her carrier bag and walking out the door. The autumn air gushed by as Chelsea tried to catch up with the boys. But first she had to buy some flowers for Mrs. Konishi for intruding today. The flower shop was thankfully just around the corner from the Konishi residence. Entering, Chelsea grabbed a bouquet of yellow tulips and quickly paid.

She didn't want to be late either. Mr. Konishi had a bad temper when people kept him waiting. But Chelsea always put him in his place. Waiting at the door into the apartment building were Havoc and Edmund. They were chatting away about a game when Chelsea squeezed through them.

"What took you so long?" Edmund asked, ringing the doorbell for the Konishis.

"I went to buy Mrs. Konishi some flowers. It would be rude of me not to bring her something since I _am_ bringing uninvited guests in," she glared. Havoc and Edmund looked at each other and gave her an apologetic smile. The buzzer stopped ringing and made a loud buzzing noise, indicating the door was now unlocked. Pushing the door open, the three of them walked towards the elevator and waited for its arrival.

"You're sure you won't get in trouble with Mustang for this?" Edmund asked.

"Maybe but I much rather be here," Havoc smiled at Chelsea. She rolled her eyes again but returned the smile. She would always have feelings for that man after that night. She only wished she knew if he felt the same. But Chelsea doubted it. After countless girlfriends, she was positive he didn't. With the elevator finally reaching the lobby, the trio got in and went up to the eighth floor. Jean got rid of his cigarette on the floor and tried to air out his military jacket.

"You're going to kill us in here!" Chelsea kicked him just as the bell went off and the doors opened.

"I'm trying not to smell too bad! And I'm a military officer, don't kick me!" he argued. Edmund sighed, pushing them both aside and knocking on Mrs. Konishi's door. The strong smell of Mrs. Konishi's cooking hit them hard when she came to the door. The boys straightened up their uniforms and saluted her.

"So glad you could make a house call, Chelsea. Stephen can barely get out of bed," she sighed, greeting Chelsea with a hug and a kiss on each cheek.

"It was no problem at all, Claire. You're old friends so I couldn't say no. Besides, I needed to get some air after working on his new arm for so long. These are for you," Chelsea smiled, giving Claire the flowers. "Oh, this is Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, and you know my brother Edmund,"

"How very kind of you, dear," she smiled and placed them on the table for the time being. "It's very nice to meet you, Lieutenant Havoc and it's nice to see you again Edmund, please do come in," she stepped out of the way. The cozy apartment had two bedrooms, a living room, a small dining room, decent sized kitchen and two bathrooms. A decent size for two people.

"Is that her? Is Chelsea finally here?!" they could all here Mr. Konishi's yelling from the master bedroom.

"I guess he hasn't given you a break since the accident," Chelsea said and walked towards the room. Claire sighed and shook her head. Sure her husband was injured, but she sometimes wished it was his mouth that was broken instead. Chelsea walked in and glared at the middle aged man in bed. "If that accident didn't kill you, I sure will,"

"It's not my fault my arm got caught in the machine. Someone bumped into me and boom, there went my arm," Stephen explained. Chelsea pulled up a chair next to the bed and started working. Most of the pieces on his shoulder that would connect and hold the arm were shattered. If she had known it was this bad, she would've come earlier. "Give it to me straight, how bad is it?"

Chelsea looked up and took some bolts, screws and a screwdriver from her bag. "Well, your shoulder piece is practically shattered but I'll just fix it with alchemy. Hopefully there'll be enough metal left there to do so," Getting back to work, she could hear plates moving in the kitchen and it started to make her feel hungry.

Claire served the men each of plate of the food she was making. It would've been completely rude of her not to. "So Edmund, how are the kids?"

"Big and reckless. They break almost everything in the house and I'm always calling Chels to come fix it all. But they've started first grade a couple of weeks ago so they're doing pretty well," Edmund said, setting down his fork and continuing the conversation.

"What about Audrey? Is she being a handful?" she asked.

"Maybe you should ask Chelsea that question. Audrey is in fact her daughter, I'm sure she'll give you answers," Havoc answered, a bit straight forward. Claire was taken aback but nodded nonetheless. The three of them sat quietly until Chelsea exited the room two hours later.

She looked around them and quietly let a small chuckle out. Chelsea had heard Jean's response to Claire's question. He was usually protective of Audrey and her. "Stephen's arm is all set and ready for him to use. Here's some instructions I wrote down that he should follow the first week," Chelsea pulled out a piece of paper from her bag and placed on the table. "I'll send you the bill, let's go boys," she said as Edmund and Havoc bowed in respect and walked out the door. "Oh and Claire," Chelsea turned back, "Don't worry, Audrey isn't a handful," With that, she closed the door behind her and walked to the elevator.

"Am I in the wrong for responding to her like that?" Jean asked, letting the siblings step inside the elevator when it arrived. "I feel kind of guilty now,"

"Don't. She does it to be nosy and go gossip to the old women at her knitting club. It's what old people do to stay alive," Edmund laughed.

"Not if they keep prying in my business," Chelsea said, putting on her jacket before stepping out of the elevator. She was just glad to be finished with this client and not having to go back anytime soon. Chelsea never really liked Claire because of her prying. At least she paid well enough for her service. Upon feeling the chilled air from outside, she shoved her hands into her pockets and began to walk.

"What now?" Edmund asked, following behind his younger sister with Jean.

"I have to go pick up Audrey from daycare. Come along if you'd like," she called out. The boys looked to each other and nodded. Jean took Chelsea's tool bag and together, the boys linked their arms with hers and dragged her to the daycare. Chelsea sighed, knowing this was probably the highlight of their day. Every now and then, they would get lost and she'd have to redirect them some other way. They finally sprinted into a run after Chelsea told them they were late. "You two are really the worst," she commented when they finally reached the red-brick school and watched as the children were being sent out.

"I wonder if she remembers you, Jean," Edmund said, peering over Chelsea's shoulder to look for his little niece. "I mean, she has to, right? You've been there for almost every occasion possible for her,"

"Unless Chelsea taught her otherwise,"

"Why the hell would I do that?" Chelsea argued. Just as Jean and Chelsea were about to start their argument, a little girl hugged Chelsea's leg.

"Mommy! Mommy! I drew a picture for you today!" Little Audrey smiled and dug into her backpack. Edmund eyed both Jean and Chelsea while Audrey was distracted. Sighing, they both made a truce with a small handshake before Audrey turned her attention back towards the adults. "Look mommy!"

Chelsea crouched down to Audrey's height and took the drawing in her hand. Even though it was just scribbles and swirls, it still brought a smile to her face. "You know where this is going, right?"

Audrey grinned. "The refridger?"

"Yes, the refridger," Chelsea laughed. She didn't expect a three year old to say refrigerator just yet, but she'll take refridger anytime. "Now say hi to your uncle," She picked her up while trying to grab her backpack as well. But that's why Jean was there; he did her the favor.

"Uncle Eddy, when can I come over?" Audrey asked.

"Anytime. The twins miss you, so does your Aunt Michelle," Edmund smiled. Audrey jumped up and down in front of Chelsea.

"Audrey, you remember Jean, right? Mommy's old friend?" Chelsea pointed to him. Audrey nodded and stuck out her hand for a handshake. Jean took her hand in his and shook it gently.

"Hi Mister Jean," Audrey returned and gesture and added a hug.

"Hell Audrey, how are you?" Havoc asked, giving the little girl a smile.

"Good, thank you," she responded. Chelsea cursed the day Edmund taught Audrey to be so proper. But then again, she really didn't mind it.

"I have to get back to the shop now. Marie is probably tearing her head off with the new guy and all," Taking Audrey's hand and backpack, they walked back to the shop, on Chelsea's route. She didn't want the boys getting them lost all over again. Especially not on a Friday. "So what'd you do at school today?"

As Audrey told her about a movie they watched and a scavenger hunt they had, the walk to the shop didn't seem to take long. Maybe because they had left Jean behind when he stopped to flirt with a girl from a nearby café. Spotting the shop, Audrey ran ahead and waited at the door. "Mommy, is Mary here today?"

"Yeah, she's inside with a new friend. Go on and say hi," Chelsea opened the door and heard Marie squeal in delight, as she always did, when she saw Audrey. "Thanks for dragging me around the city looking for Audrey's school," Chelsea laughed and hugged Edmund goodbye.

"Well, there'll always next week for a repeat. I'll see you tomorrow!" Edmund called out before running off back to central command. She was about to go back inside when Jean finally appear after they left him at the café. "Must've been a long chat," she said.

"It was business," Jean huffed, trying to catch his breath. "Did your brother go back to command?" Chelsea nodded. Once his posture was regained, Jean made a disgusted face. "That means I have to go too. Well, it was nice seeing you today, Chels. We should do this again," he smiled, giving her a kiss on the cheek before running off behind Edmund. Sure, Chelsea thought to herself and entered the shop. Only to find Audrey and Terry making a mess of things already.

"Hey! You two put down that leg right now!"


End file.
